Who could fail to notice that internationalisation is one of the faculty's strategic focus areas? On the other hand, how the goal of increased internationalisation should be implemented in practice is not set in stone. At the Department of Public Health, a recent panel debate is an example of how the university can invite the outside world to come and give both employees and students an international perspective.

2021.11.04 | Sabina Bjerre Hansen

On an October afternoon there was hectic activity in the lecture theatre at Dalgas Avenue, where the Department of Public Health is partly based. Around fifty researchers and students were ppresent in the lecture theatre, while eighty others – mostly international researchers – joined via Zoom. The crowd-puller was a panel debate with four international sports researchers, and the occasion was the launch of Assistant Professor Jörg Krieger's book on the leadership of the scandal-ridden World Athletics, as the international athletics federation is called.

"An event like this may not directly help you score ranking points or get external funding, but this is internationalisation that really makes a difference," says Assistant Professor Jörg Krieger from the Department of Public Health and continues:

"As a researcher in international elite sport, you’re work is international by default. So inviting an international panel of experts to the event is pretty standard. I wanted to communicate my research to a broader audience than those who read scientific journals, because we’ve got to come down from our ivory tower. And I also want to expand my students' intellectual horizons and give them an impression of the extent to which our field of research is international."

There is no fixed formula for internationalisation
Unfortunately, Vice-dean for Education Lise Wogensen Bach was unable to participate in the event at Dalgas Avenue, but she warmly welcomes the initiative.

"These are the kinds of events we need more of for the benefit of students and researchers. At the same time, it’s a good example of how internationalisation in some fields is completely natural. But we also need to put internationalisation and a global outlook on the agenda in places where it’s not quite as natural,” she states, and goes on to say:

“Internationalisation isn’t a goal in itself. There is no fixed formula, so we don’t simply announce how the focus area should be implemented in the academic environments. There is scope for interpretation and diversity. We can help one another and I hope that an event like this can inspire others at the faculty. Internationalisation and global outlook must permeate all our activities and not just formal research collaborations and the syllabus."

"For example, you can ditch the traditional lecture in favour of discussing the day's curriculum in an alternative way, just like at the event at Public Health Science, where the students have a good dialogue with the guests," says Lise Wogensen Bach. She also refers to the four internationalisation initiatives that the faculty has submitted to AU's overall action plan. These are the activities that Health will have special focus on in 2022 (in addition to the joint AU activities):

• Internationalisation with focus on onboarding of new international employees.
• Internationalisation of study programmes (more visiting lecturers, increased English language choice + mobility as well as development of partnerships within Circle U).
• Increased internationalisation under the auspices of Circle U.
• Internationalisation with focus on joint PhD courses.

We don’t work with internationalisation out of obligation
Professor Verner Møller is a colleague of Jörg Krieger’s at the Department of Public Health, and he participated in the discussion of governance in athletics at the combined panel debate and book launch.

"Within our field of research, we work with internationalisation out of interest, not obligation. And that's how it should be if you ask me. When we study sports science, professional sport, doping, etc., we’re dealing with inherently international phenomena, so being in close contact with the outside world is completely natural and a prerequisite," says Verner Møller.

"Internationalisation in the form of what’s called academic tourism is, in my opinion, not something that should be promoted. Substance and relevance must drive internationalisation – not whether it’s possible to get on a trip to Miami, Sydney or Dubai. For the same reason, the International Network for Doping Research, which the department houses, has chosen not to allow the bi-annual conference to be held in exotic destinations. Nonetheless, we’ve repeatedly succeeded in getting the world's leading doping researchers to attend conferences in Aarhus. The point is that you can internationalise without travelling yourself," he says.

Worth the effort required to organise the event

As a foreigner at a Danish university, Jörg Krieger no longer thinks of internationalisation as an independent discipline. But he recommends that other researchers should embark on similar events with an international outlook.

"It has required a great deal of planning and coordination to organise the event, and there have been several challenges along the way. Among other things, getting help advertising the event wasn’t as simple as I’d hoped it would be. And it was difficult to get a representative of the athletes to join the panel. But nonetheless, it’s been very much worth the effort. I've learned a lot and strengthened my professional network," he says and continues:

"I'm really proud that we managed to get a representative from among the athletes to take part in the panel debate – even though she took part via Zoom from the USA. It was probably a mixture of persistence and luck that we succeeded getting her," says Jörg Krieger with reference to Emma Coburn, world champion in the 3,000 metre steeplechase.

We mustn’t internationalise for the sake of it

Professor Verner Møller highlights the participation of an athlete as an element that really gave the event a boost.

"It's always interesting when people who understand the same field have the opportunity to discuss with each other, without it all being played out in strident language on social media. It was an interesting and constructive debate, and there’s a real value in it for us as researchers and for our students, when we maintain contact with our research colleagues and the athletes we study. This is where internationalisation in practice comes into its own," he says.

The fact that the event brought together practitioners, researchers and students is one of the reasons why Department Head Ole Bækgaard believes that the panel debate proved to be something special.

"As we know, internationalisation is a prioritised focus area, and in my opinion the event that Jörg has organised is a pioneering example of how we can invite the outside world to come to the university and give staff and students an international outlook. I'm impressed that four of the top international researchers in the field of sports science research participated in the event here in Aarhus," he says.

"I believe that an event such as Jörg’s is more valuable than, for example, inviting a foreign researcher into the classroom as a visiting lecturer for a single lesson. At the panel debate, the students were given the opportunity to hear some of the world's leading researchers within their field in an academic discussion. They saw how research is also fuelled by disagreement, which is an important insight. The scientific community has more than one answer to everything – there are disputes,” says Ole Bækgaard.

He notes that the event also gave students an opportunity to talk to researchers face-to-face in an academic but informal setting.

“The panel members even took the time to continue discussions with our students at the subsequent reception," says Ole Bækgaard.

Facts about the panel debate at the Department of Public Health

• Title: Past, Present, and Future of Athletics’ Governance - Panel Discussion and Book Launch of “Power and Politics in World Athletics. A Critical History”
• On the panel:
  • Emma Coburn, 3000 metre steeplechase world champion and Vice-President of The Athletics Association
  • Sylvia Barlag, council member in World Athletics and PhD in physics from the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands
  • Ian Ritchie, associate professor at Brock University, Canada
  • Lindsay Pieper, associate professor at Lynchburg University, USA
  • April Henning, lecturer at the University of Stirling, US

• Organiser  and moderator: Jörg Krieger, assistant professor at Aarhus University and the author of the book "Power and Politics in World Athletics. A Critical History”.

 Contact

Assistant Professor Jörg Krieger
Aarhus University, Department of Public Health
Mobile: (+45) 9352 2187
Email: krieger@ph.au.dk